Posted: 5/23/2026 7:05:11 PM EDT
| So I know they'll be multiple opinions but here my question is. I've made 87% + of all my POTA activations with an OCFD wire antenna. Combined with the G90 I've worked 10m to 40m contacts. I mistakenly bought a Super Antenna kit a couple of years ago and while I have got two activations with it the wire antenna has been far superior for me. I had a not unfriendly contact with a ranger at my last park but was ask to "check in" next time. I'm also seeing on POTA social media pages about multiple activators having interactions and I know in some parks the use of trees is just not allowed. What's the opinion on the best vertical antenna for this use. I understand some parks you aren't supposed to use ground spikes either so tripod mount also? Thanks in advance. |
We should have been working on a vaccine for Liberalism rather than a vaccine for COVID. gunham
PFG # 195
PFG # 195
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With all antennas, there are numerous personal preferences. Numerous opinions. I use a heavy speaker stand to hold up either a 25' whip or a 33' mast to hang a 33', 1/4 wave 40M vertical on. You can use on ground, above ground, or magic cloth for radials. I am fortunate to have a friend give me the damaged speaker stand, which is great! I have used all three. I think the above ground works slightly better. Slightly. If you want multi-band, you can use a variety of OCFD vertical, EFHW verticals, or Rybakov verticals. For details on the antennas, Salty Walt's books, or his YouTube videos have details. Also, KJ6ER, the POTAPerformer guy, has details on verticals for all of these as well. My preference is currently a 33' mast with wire for 40M, and then using that as a vertical EFHW for 20M and higher frequencies. Only difference is to add a 49:1 balun at the bottom and a 5% counterpoise. But, that may change next week. |
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Originally Posted By Ersatz_Naugahyde: For winter activations I just use a hamstick off the stake pocket in the bedrail. Zero fuss. Minimal exposure. This time of year usually the Chameleon 17.5. I am 100% with you on this... For winter POTA, I generally use a hamstick mounted on the bed of my PU. In the warmer months, I use a Chameleon 17 SS whip on top of a Wolf River Mega tripod. I really dislike hanging crap in trees at parks... |
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About a year ago I was doing a POTA at Silver Springs SP in Illinois and had an end fed into a tree and had a DNR officer tell me nothing can be hung or mounted in trees. He was actually very cool about it and I was actually done with the activation. He didn't make a big deal about it and also asked some questions about the ham radio stuff. I use either a TN07 SFP-102 with either a drive on mount or hitch mount or a jpc-12. The jpc-12 if I can't spike it in I have the tripod setup and use a tee ball base weight to hold it if its windy. |
THIS IS THE WAY
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My experience mirrors yours. The best vertical antenna is to put up your OCFD or other wire without the aid of the precious "trees." As far as which /p vertical is the best? None are better than any other in my humble opinion. **Portable** GP monopoles all suffer from the same deficit. Ground losses in the near field. After I'd acquired a set of 7m and 10m CHA carbon fiber masts? Unless I'm in a thicket of trees where the required overhead clearing for the wire isn't there (fairly often) the dipole is the preferred choice because it has the best propagation, all other aspects considered. I typically choose a loaded coil mated to a surveyor's tripod coupled to a 25' telescoping whip when I must work vertical. A pair of tuned counterpoise rounds out the setup. WRC or Super Antenna hasn't seen the light of day in a coon's age. Yet, I strongly prefer linked dipoles or, as a quick solution when time is limited? The OCFD from which I have great success in the field. Both are hand rolled but using commercially available baluns. If I could rewind the time and invest the $$$ I've sunk into whiz bang verticals starting from five years ago, when I caught the HF portable bug? I'd have much more dineros to spend on suppressors and NVGs. -Moga |
"We must take sides. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
Proud Member of GeorgiaCarry.Org
Proud Member of GeorgiaCarry.Org
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We've done this for Field Day. A ~2' length of 2x8 with a floor flange on one end. Put other end under a tire of car and screw a 3' length of galvanized pipe into the flange. Make up a vertical mast of 3' lengths of PVC pipe with couplings that can be disassembled. Drop it into the galvanized pipe and use it to hold up the center of an inverted vee trap dipole for 20 & 40. The ends of the dipole can be held with cinder blocks. 20/40 dipole Total length is ~50'. |
"...Capitalism...shares its blessings unequally; ...Socialism...shares its miseries equally."
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
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If our DNR cared so much about our precious trees, they'd actively work to eradicate all the wild grapevine which has infested seemingly every park I've been at. Some of the vines I've seen are larger than a big man's wrists. Fully a third of the dead falls in the park we're going to activate were choked off by them. The others look to have been killed off by insects or a combination of the two. |
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This past weekend I activated US1950 with a random wire (75 or so feet) fed via a 9:1 balun and decoupled via several random-length radials. Could only get the balun side of the wire 25ft into a nearby tree. The great big pines nearby? Absolutely overrun with poison ivy and Homie ain't trying that tune. Couldn't get better than 3:1 match on the 703's internal tuner and around 5w out but I got a lot of contacts and surprised a lot of people with the setup. But...there has to be another - possibly better - way. I have several bags of military masts in the barn - both aluminum and fiberglass. Also have a mount for a Hustler mobile mast along with a bunch of resonators. And a tripod mount. Going to try this from the house before taking it afield, but: Put the base of the antenna at 12 to 20ft elevation, mobile mast with 40/20/15m resonators, 3 tuned radials per band with the longest being of heavy enough gauge wire to act as guy wires. Also in the stash is a 1:1 isolation transformer for use at the feed point. All of the components will fit in a carry bag for the masts and it isn't like I don't have room in the truck bed for it.  Should the experiment not prove fruitful there's a bunch of BTV parts in the barn. A 40 to 10M version might be supported on 20ft of mast and I have a tilt-over mount I built specifically for this sort of operation. I really need to get a G90 at some point. |
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Originally Posted By AnalogKid: I have several bags of military masts in the barn - both aluminum and fiberglass. Also have a mount for a Hustler mobile mast along with a bunch of resonators. I've used those both as vertical antennas and as supports for a dipole for portable operations. There's a size of PVC pipe, 1 1/2 I think, that fits reasonably well over the small end of those sections, I used that to make a center insulator and pulled elements off for 40 and 20 in an X, and also 10 if needed. The 40 wires give one 15 also with a tuner. 4 or 5 sections for 16-20 feet is reasonably stable just using the dipole elements as guys. Can also use a couple of the guy rings and some wire to make an ersatz commander-style "fan vertical" using the fiberglass sections as support. I've contemplated a setup to make a reduced size 40 meter but haven't ever tried one yet. I have done a full size 40m, two sets of guys and a lot of care in raising and lowering and it works really well but not a single-person job. One fiberglass at the base and six (IIRC) aluminum sections for the radiating element for the full size 40. Those mast sections are great but the supply seems dried up now. I believe their original purpose was to hold up camo netting. |
This is...a clue - Pat_Rogers
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
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No problem throwing a wire in a tree in oregon for me. I use a 40m long wire EFHW for 20m, 40m, and 80m if im going to stay a while or im camping overnight. I have a cheap chineese vertical whip I use for 20m and above. Ive also done speaker wire dipole in a inverted V for 10m and 20m. Those work great but I like to hop bands. |